ClueBy
TodayArchiveWord list

Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
YesNo
↻ New worksheet

Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. pop — soda
  4. mine — for digging
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. pop — to visit
  7. track — a path
  8. spell — magic
  9. fork — in a road
  10. cap — a hat
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. track — a song
  13. cap — of ice
  14. spring — the season
  15. track — to keep track
  16. spring — a coil
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. cap — a lid
  19. key — the most important part
  20. spring — of water
  21. key — for a lock
  22. spell — a short time
  23. spell — letters
  24. key — in music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com